River City Girls 2 is one of this generation's biggest and best beat 'em ups, combining smooth combat, action RPG mechanics, and a delightful story into one compelling package. Whereas the first game only supports 2-player local co-op, RCG2 launched with 4-player local and 2-player online co-op. We thought that's where the co-op features would end, but WayForward surprised us by adding 4-player online co-op to the Xbox Series S|X, PlayStation 5, and Steam versions of the game. Now we're talkin'!

Practically every style of game gets a roguelike interpretation nowadays. Sometimes these roguelike takes are official series entries like Double Dragon Gaiden, and other times they emerge as games inspired by classics. That's the case for 30XX from Batterystaple Games. 30XX is the sequel to 20XX, and both games are heavily inspired by Capcom's Mega Man series. After spending a couple of years in Steam Early access, 30XX is finally graduating to full release status on Steam and also launching on Switch in August.

Not long ago, River City Girls 2 received a long-awaited patch that improved its frame rate and fixed countless bugs. Fans have been greatly enjoying WayForward's beat 'em up RPG since the update arrived, but they also noticed that the game's combo system had become more finicky. That change was apparently unintentional, and it has now been fixed in the game's latest update. The new balance update is now live on all platforms.

River City Ransom (known in Japan as Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari) is a highly influential beat 'em up RPG from 1989 that has seen numerous ports and remakes over the years. I'm partial to the PC Engine version, myself! Back in 2017, an enhanced remake of Ransom was released on 3DS called River City: Rival Showdown. That game is now heading to PlayStation, Switch, and Steam in October with both local and online co-op!

A couple of years ago,  Finnish developer 10tons released DYSMANTLE, an action RPG with mild survival elements set in a zombie apocalypse. The studio is following up with DYSPLACED, a similar game in a new setting. This one sees players transported and displaced to a mysterious new world where they will battle Fortnite: Save the World-like mon...

Sega's classic arcade and Dreamcast game, Cosmic Smash, isn't very well known internationally since it was only released in Japan. That hasn't stopped RapidEyeMovers and developer Wolf & Wood from reviving the property with a sequel, though! C-Smash VRS is now available exclusively on PlayStation VR2. The first-person brick-breaking...

The first Cooking Simulator is, reportedly, a very good cooking game for consoles and PC. How can Big Cheese Studio improve on such a finely crafted meal of a game when making the sequel? Why, with co-op, of course. Cooking Simulator 2: Better Together will feature 2-player online co-op, allowing friends to prepare meals and perform other tasks together. The sequel is heading to Steam at the end of the year.

Sega might not be too keen on making sequels to its games (Sonic Superstars notwithstanding), but it has been willing to license out sequels such as Streets of Rage 4. We'll soon see another such licensed sequel in the form of C-Smash VRS, the upcoming PlayStation VR2-exclusive sequel to Cosmic Smash. While Cosmic Smash is a fairly obscure arcade/Dreamcast game, there's no denying that this sequel looks like a super fun virtual reality game.

When River City Girls 2, the latest game in WayForward's beloved beat 'em up RPG series, arrived in December, players quickly discovered that the game's frame rate was inexplicably locked to 30 FPS. The developer promised an update to fix the issue, but the wait stretched on for quite a while. At last, the performance update is her...

What if you did Beyblades but with furry animals instead of spinning tops? You’d get FurryFury: Smash & Roll from Demibug and Cosmic Publishing. Players take control of a variety of wacky animals, roll into an arena, and brawl against enemies. With both local and online 2-player co-op, this one should be a smash with friends. After first launching on Steam and mobile, FurryFury is now available on Nintendo Switch as well.

We love when a new developer comes out swinging, and that's just what New Zealand-based Space Rock Games is doing. Composed of industry veterans who have worked on the Fable series, Path of Exile, and Chivalry 2, Space Rock Games is going all in on co-op. Their first game, Criminals Within, is a medieval fantasy action game with 2-player split-screen and online co-op, and it's coming to both PC and consoles.

It's no exaggeration to say that River City Girls 2 was my most-anticipated beat 'em up of 2022. The first game is an all-time favorite, and the second offers an increase in scale and numerous improvements. However, when RCG2 launched in December, hardcore fans quickly noticed that the game's frame rate was off. Whereas RCG1 r...